Brooke Van Poppelen reminisces about the difficulties of teenage employment: "On the first day, she made her authority known by throwing rags at all of us and yelling, 'If you've got time to lean, then you've got time to clean!!!' I was startled by this and awkwardly wandered out into the dining room and wiped the already sparkling clean tables over and over again for fear of inducing her wrath. This became a routine. I would see Irene out of the corner of my eye, immediately pick up a rag and bolt out to the dining area frantically searching for something to wipe. I have since become a compulsive wiper in any other jobs or stressful situations I've had thanks in part to my Pavlovian rituals with Irene."

Don Hall waxes philosophical about the nature of art, and things made of poo: "I used to make a joke that the reason I started an Off Loop theater in the first place was Picasso. He became so revered at one point (so the rumor goes) that he would pay for meals by drawing some shit on a napkin. I decided that my goal was to one day be able to get up onstage, wearing nothing but blue body paint and a grass skirt, sit on a wooden mat and eat tropical fruit out of a series of wooden bowls underscored by Elvis Presley singing 'Blue Hawaii'" I would know I had 'made it' when the audience saw clothing where there was none and declared it a great piece of moving performance art."

Angela Manginelli is documenting her entire iO student experience from the very beginning: "At my first class I felt I fell into the role of the armchair improviser rather easily....It’s one thing to watch and critique, but it’s a whole different thing to get up and do it myself. I felt I did ok, but definitely felt rusty around the edges. I made choices that I didn’t feel were as strong as I could have or should have made. I know that if I had been watching myself from the audience I would have wished I’d taken more time to listen to what my partner was asking for and focus more on making the other person look good and feel comfortable. Not having improvised in a few years put me back in my head and second-guessing myself a lot more than necessary. Being in your head seems to be a common ailment amongst improvisers and one I hope to avoid in the future as much as possible."

Crago has thoughts about beer, among other things: "Old Milwaukee Is Better Than Schlitz! It truly is. I dare anyone to disagree with me. The cans of Schlitz smelled like old bandaids. It was disgusting. I’m so happy that we have Old Milwaukee now…and it’s only $2!"

Allison Bills vows never to do rage-fueled Red Bull induced comedy again: "When I arrived at the theater, the other shows had already started and Deep Schwa was waiting for their closing slot. I stood with team-mate, Tim Mason talking and suddenly realized I was really angry. I couldn't put my finger on what about, perse, but I felt literally filled with rage, completely irrational. I talked to Tima bout it a little and he was the one to originally point the finger at the Red Bull. He said there was an ingredient in Red Bull that was extracted from real bulls and was responsible for their bouts of energetic rage. This did NOT comfort me, but did make me aware or and conscientious about what was happening to me. I found myself running the gamut of awful circumstances I thought my state of mind would be terrible in... if I were a white supremacist, or a fraternity boy with a very drunk girl, or a surgeon. I was terrified of myself."

- Elizabeth McQuern